METAIRIE, La. (AP) – Utah safety Marcus Williams was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the second-round of the NFL draft.

Williams, a 6-foot-1, 202-pound graduate of Eastvale Roosevelt High, was selected 42nd overall on Friday night. He intercepted five passes in 11 games last season and also had five interceptions in 2015, when he was selected first-team All-Pac-12.

“It’s a great feeling just hearing my name called, I can’t even explain it right now with all my family around,” he said during a conference call with media that covers the Saints. “It’s really amazing and I can’t wait to get out there and start this new journey in my life.

“I can’t even talk I’m so excited, but I’m happy I got picked by the Saints because I feel like that’s where I need to be and I’m happy that’s where I got called.”

The Saints have now used two of their first three draft choices to bolster a secondary which struggled last season, as New Orleans ranked last in the NFL in yards passing allowed.

New Orleans used its top pick, the 11th overall, to take Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore on Thursday night.

Williams, who doesn’t turn 21 until September, left Utah after his junior season.

New Orleans also is slated to have two picks in Friday night’s third round, the latter coming from New England as part of a trade in March that sent receiver Brandin Cooks to the Patriots.

The Saints also had the last pick in Thursday night’s first round, using that on Wisconsin offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk.

Williams had 11 interceptions over three seasons including five each of the past two seasons. He couples that knack as a ball-hawk with being strong in run support and a sure tackler. More to come on this story.

“I feel like I do a lot of things well,” he said in a conference call transcript posted to the team website. “I feel like I take away the ball. I am able to get sideline to sideline. I am that guy that wants to take that ball away regardless where I am at and I can make tackles. I just feel like each and every day I get better at my game.” At the end of the

Williams said at Utah he mostly played “center field” and was required to cover sideline-to-sideline.

“At the end of the day I’m just going to continue to get better and be that safety wherever they play me up in the box, back in the post,” he said. “I feel like I can do it regardless if I haven’t done it before because that is just my mentality. I feel like I’m just that type of player and I have a lot of confidence and that is the type of person they are getting with me.”

At the NFL combine in February, Williams, who doesn’t turn 21 until September, posted 4.56 in the 40-yard draft and a 43 1/2-inch vertical jump that tied for second among all players at the combine.

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